N-(4-benzoylphenyl)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide and other N-aryl or -pyridyl propanamides are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,163 which issued Dec. 21, 1993 to Russell et al. Such compounds are cellular potassium channel openers and are thus usefull in the treatment of urinary incontinence and other diseases and conditions including hypertension, asthma, peripheral vascular disease and angina, as disclosed in the aforementioned patent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,163 also discloses a method of preparing the (S)-(-) enantiomer of N-(4-benzoylphenyl)-3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-methylpropanamide which method employs diastereomeric ester formation followed by chromatographic separation, and subsequent removal of the ester group by treatment with a base.